For nearly 35 years, Raimundo Arrudo Sobrinho has been homeless and living on the streets.
He tried to scribble a few short stories and poems during the daytime, but no one ever read.
But Raimundo never gave up and used to write every day with a dream to get his work published someday. But no one could really trust a homeless man. But Raimundo’s life transformed in 2011 when he met Shalla.
The woman was curious to know about the homeless man who sat with a pen in his hand. Whenever she passed by him, he would always have a pen in his hand and would be scribbling something on old pieces of paper.
The day when Shalla read one of Raimundo’s poems, she was struck by the man’s ability. She even started a Facebook page so that she could spread awareness about this guy’s talent. When his stories and poems were out in public, someone came forward unexpectedly.
The 77-year-old man has been living in the streets of Brazil for a really long time. Raimundo was born in the countryside and later moved to Sao Paulo at the age of 23. He spent his time working as a book dealer and gardener.
The military dictatorship left Raimundo homeless in the late 1970s. He then spent his time living on the streets but never really gave up on his writing. The world remained oblivious to his work. But that wasn’t enough reason to stop him from doing what he loved.
Raimundo had nothing but black bags that he wore and lived by a busy road. He had a fixed place where he sat every day. Whoever walked past him assumed that he was a dirty old man who did not want to help himself.
But that did not deter Raimundo. In 2011, he caught the attention of Shalla. She had a conversation with him every day, and he was willing to share his work with her.
Shalla was so amazed to see his work that she started a Facebook page to present his work to the world. Raimundo’s work received a wave of support on the internet. This page grew with time and had over 100,000 fans.
One person saw Raimundo’s page on Facebook and realized that this man was his missing brother.
The person immediately contacted Raimundo and invited him to live with him in his house. Raimundo took bath for the first time in 35 years and groomed himself. Raimundo has a home to live and comfortably goes to sleep every night. He is still good friends with Shalla.
We do not realize that homeless people living on the streets have their own stories. We are so busy with our own lives that we don’t stop by to have a chat with them. They are humans too. They have emotions, feelings, talents, ambitions. All they need is a little support.
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